Sumit Sharma
Jammu, May 23: Though the process for setting up of five new Medical Colleges in the state has been formally set off with the issuance of notification by the Health & Medical Education Department of the J&K Government Friday, but, amazingly, the permission from Medical Council of India (MCI) for the very purpose is yet to obtain by the government.
"The MCI has not received any application for the opening of the new Medical Colleges in the Jammu and Kashmir state", officials in MCI said, adding "MCI receive applications for the opening of the new medical institutes in the month of August every year".
As per the new guidelines of MCI, the new medical colleges can be opened with 200 bedded hospitals. All five district hospitals at Kathua, Doda, Rajouri, Anantnag and Baramulla had the capacity to raise their strength to 200 beds. Another guideline of the MCI was that the new GMCs must have 100 kanals of land.
Sources said District Hospital Kathua has 104 kanals land while DH Doda has 70 kanals land. The Government would acquire 70 kanals land for it. DH Rajouri has 64 kanals land while it has adjacent land of Government quarters and some agriculture, which would take it to 100 kanals.
Meanwhile, some faculty members, based on the anonymity termed the opening of new medical colleges as a political gimmick, on the various grounds. As per their statement, "Opening of the new Medical Colleges in the state is a welcome step, but state government has already utterly failed with respect to providing facilities in the Super Specialty and GMC &H which are premier institutes."
The faculty members further said the existing institutes are already grappling with the shortage of faculty members and Super Specialty and GMC&H are the live examples in which people are forced to suffer. Due to shortage of the faculty members, the doctors in the GMC &H are deputed to conduct operations in the Super Specialty.
"One cannot understand how the government would arrange faculty for the upcoming institutes as claimed made before opening of Super Specialty already prove damp squib," said the faculty members.
Pertinently, the MCI during its inspection held recently in the GMC&H pointed out various lacunae and ordered for additional infrastructure and state government was apprised of the same, but till date the administration in the GMC&H is still at receiving end.
It may be recalled that the state and central governments have announced setting up of these medical colleges in the state. The places where the medical Colleges are expected to come up include Anantnag and Baramulla in Kashmir province, Doda, Kathua and Rajouri in Jammu province.
These Medical Colleges are being established under the centrally sponsored scheme of "Establishment of New Medical Colleges Attached with District/Referral Hospitals".
As per the notification, each college will have an intake capacity of 100 admissions at the under-graduate level (MBBS) for which a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of India (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare) and the State Government has been already signed.
Minister for Health & Medical Education, Taj Mohi-ud-Din has set things in motion for starting these colleges from the coming academic session. The minister has already inspected all the five proposed sites and impressed upon the authorities to ensure that these colleges are made operational before the start of the coming academic session.
The Government has also appointed Nodal Officers to make these colleges functional. These are Dr. Kaisar Ahmad, Nodal Officer for Anantnag Medical College; Dr. Javed Choudhary, Nodal Officer for Baramulla Medical College; Dr. Bela Mahajan, Nodal Officer for Doda Medical College; Dr. Shashi Gupta, Nodal Officer for Kathua Medical College and Dr. Farooq Geelani, Nodal Officer for Rajouri Medical College. |
